1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to flashing emergency lights, and more specifically, to a high intensity flashing emergency light affixed to a vehicle license plate, which in the case of an emergency can be activated from within the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The light signal uses high intensity light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for improved visibility, longer life, higher reliability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lighting devices and in particular trouble warning lights are well known in the related art and serve several purposes. One such purpose served is to significantly boost a following driver""s visual cognitive threshold of awareness regarding the state of a leading vehicle""s turning or braking. Another purpose speaks to devices intended for emergency vehicles. The present invention relates to signaling devices for passenger vehicles which need to signal for assistance in emergency situations.
A vehicle strobe warning light system taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,844 issued to Purdy in 1978 is a high-intensity, electronic flash lamp in combination with a vehicle""s conventional brake, turn signal, and emergency flasher light assemblies. The lamp assembly is comprised of a gas filled lamp discharged across capacitors operating at about 800 to several thousand volts D.C.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,186 issued to Barenyi in 1965 discloses a lighting arrangement positioned at the forward and rear hood of a vehicle which, when the hood is raised during breakdowns, the lights will give other participants in traffic a clear and timely warning signal. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 294,975 issued in 1988 to Lester discloses a combined license plate bracket and vehicle back up signal light. Another design patent show a design for a strobe stop light adapted to be mounted on a vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des 381,923. The last device disclosed in this category is U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,775, issued 2000 to Erlandson and entails a stoplight system providing a high intensity flash at the instant of applying the brakes to catch the attention of the driver of a following vehicle.
Emergency lighting devices for emergency vehicles are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,363 issued to Lipman in 1991 discloses incandescent or strobe lights mounted on the windshield of emergency vehicles. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,759 issued to Latta et al. in 1999 discloses an emergency signal light using light bars and light pipes to divert substantially all light transmitted by the light pipe to a reflector to be observed remotely from the emergency vehicle.
Devices intended to attract attention in emergency situations include an emergency signal apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,847 issued to Scolari et al. in 1986, which teaches a self-contained emergency signal having a base containing a battery and a high-intensity flash lamp activated by a switch or remote control. U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,736 issued to Ulrich in 1987 discloses a electronic circuit board and circuitry, which when activated by a switch, causes the lights on a vehicle to flash on and off intermittently. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,295 issued to Jewell et al. in 2000 discloses a vehicle safety light system that includes a plurality of light elements each having multiple light emitting devices, an on/off switch, and a light element controller which activates the lamps at a plurality of different blink rates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,579, issued in 1998 to Turnbull et al. discloses an illuminator assembly having a plurality of different colored LEDs on a vehicular support member, arranged in such a manner that when activated by an electronic control unit, the overlapped and mixed illumination of the LEDs form a composite white color having sufficient intensity and color qualities as to be an effective illuminator.
Innovations in lamp design for emergency signaling devices includes LEDs and more recently, super luminescent LEDs. Super luminescent LEDs provide higher luminosity than standard LEDs while still retaining the benefits of standard LEDs which include lower power consumption, higher reliability and longer life. U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,528 issued to Choi et al. in 1992 discloses a flashing safely warning light in which a super luminescent LED is driven by a double oscillator circuit.
The related art has not adequately addressed the need for a small, effective emergency flasher of high luminosity, high reliability and low cost, which can be easily affixed to a visible portion of the exterior of a vehicle and be controlled by a switch from within the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a emergency light signal solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention is an emergency light signal having at least one high-intensity light-emitting diode (LED) disposed in an enclosure mounted between the top and/or bottom mounting bolts of an automotive vehicle license plate or may be mounted to any portion of a vehicle having at least one mounting bolt. The emergency light signal, activated by a switch within or proximate to the vehicle, generates a brilliant flashing signal.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an emergency light signaling device having a high-intensity flashing signal.
It is another object of the invention to provide an emergency light signal which can be easily disposed on a vehicle, such as the vehicle""s license plate.
It is another object of the invention to provide an emergency light signaling device which is activated by a button either within the vehicle or by a hand held wireless device.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.